Series Synopsis
In the country of Orario, there exists a mysterious and exceedingly dangerous realm known as the Dungeon. The deeper one travels, the more perilous it becomes. Venturing into the depths can bring an adventure great wealth and prestige not only for themselves, but for their Familia.
A Familia is a group of people who follow the guidance of a god or goddess and whose roles can range from treasure hunting, weapon crafting, or other services. One such Familia is led by the goddess Hestia (voiced by Inori Minase), who is accompanied by her only, but loyal follower Bell Cranel (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka).
Although Bell has great aspirations of becoming a top tier adventure, his current skills are lackluster at best. He is almost killed by a Minotaur while in the Dungeon and is saved by the powerful swordswoman, Aiz Wallenstein (voiced by Saori Onishi), a.k.a. the Sword Princess. Bell is captivated by Aiz’s beauty and strength; pledging to becoming a worthy ally for her one day.
While annoyed with fact Bell’s passion is fueled by the thoughts of another woman, Hestia is pleased with her follower’s drive to be stronger, especially when that’s exactly what begins happening. Bell's abilities begin to skyrocket and soon he is taking on enemies who almost had his head a few weeks prior.
He may have a long road ahead of him, yet Bell is well on his way to becoming a legendary adventurer and the Hestia Familia is sure to be a name which will be remembered throughout history.Series Positives
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| Hestia |
Going into this show, my interested was certainly peaked. Everywhere I looked there was Hestia’s picture. I can only assume her popularity is attributed to her immaculate pair...of pigtails; those things are simply gorgeous, aren’t they? Therefore I wanted to know what Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Daro ka, now to be exclusively referred to as DanMachi, was about.
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| Bell |
As the show started and during the first few episodes, I was very…disappointed. This series was setting itself up to be yet another half assed harem story. For what it’s worth, these early moments were fine I suppose, but they weren’t good either. I was convinced DanMachi was going to be nothing more than a show about big-boobed pretty girls.
While that is still here, as this series went on it got a lot better; to point where I ended up really liking it.
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| Aiz |
Bell
I thought Bell was so annoying at first. He was one of the reasons why I thought this show was going to go down the wrong path.
Bell seemed like one of those typical, weak, wimpy heroes all the girls fall for because he happens to be the hero. It was lame to see this formula start to get used again because frankly I'm sick of it. But then Bell started to grow on me.
He possessed a key character trait which allowed me respect him; loyalty. In a series like this, loyalty can get you far. You can easily see this between him and Hestia, but nowhere was it better illustrated than with his relationship with his supporter Lilly (voiced by Maaya Uchida).
Let me take a moment to truly commend this particular story arc.
At first Bell was acting like a main lead who thinks he’s being a gentleman because he doesn’t fight girls. I hate this and it needs to die.
It's such a cop out; serving no other purpose than to make a character look like a jackass. If a warrior is challenging you, fight them. Don’t believe me, then watch History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi and see how long it takes before it gets old.
To my relief, Bell actually does't have this mind set. When training with Aiz, he doesn’t try to get out of it by bringing up her gender. Instead he takes a fighting stance and proceeds to get his nuts handed to him over and over again.
Going back to Lilly’s story, Bell came to her rescue even after she stabbed him in the back. She was at a loss for words. No one had ever done this for her and she wanted to know why. Bell’s initial response was because she was a girl.
This of course infuriates Lilly because it sounded like Bell would do anything for a girl and that wasn't the kind of help she wanted. Bell realized how stupid a rationalization like this wa. He did what he did because Lilly was Lilly and he wanted to be there for his friend.
Instantly you saw the bonds of trust be formed between these two and Bell was no longer the tiny pushover from the beginning. He was a hero with faults and weaknesses, but a hero none the less and ended up becoming one of my favorite elements of this series.
The Fights and the Animation
Wow, really good; like incredibly good. Very fast, everything looked amazing, this show is stunning. All the action scenes, every single one, got bigger and more intense. They became spectacles and it was so cool to see.
Bell's fight with a Minotaur, for example, was bad ass. It was gritty and intense. You could feel every blow, every cut, and every hit. Bell himself looked the part of the hero. This kid clearly has something to him and he's not the hero because the story says so.
Then there was the climactic fight between the Titan (oh by the way, this show legit turns into Attack on Titan at the end and there's nothing anyone can say to make me think otherwise). This was completely epic in scale. Everyone was going at it and it was a phenomenal ending.
Role Playing
My favorite part of the series was its RPG elements. This is a role playing game through and through. It took all the elements of one and made them an actual part of this world.
Characters would level up their stats, earn spell points, go on side quests, and everything else you would normally do in these types of games. I can’t even beginning to tell how many different dungeons I've fought through which were spot on similar to the one in DanMachi.
If you’re a fan of these games like I am, it’s easy to get into the mindset of these characters. There's a point when Bell and his party were badly beaten and the only option they had left meant going deeper into the labyrinth to hopefully make it to the safe zone.
By the time they got there, Bell was the only one able to fight; everyone else was out of commission. I’ve had to limp to safety so many times. Experience or loot are irrelevant when the consequences of not making it are steep.
DanMachi took all this stuff, brought it into the story, and made the entire show that much more enjoyable.
Series Negatives
Continuing on with how this series is in essence a RPG, lets think of what makes an RPG good.
All the best role playing games have three key factors going for the; mechanics, story, and characters. For DanMachi, we’ll say the animation is the equivalent to game mechanics, so that’s one down. The characters are another easy check. As for the story, well…
A decent RPG can survive and remain fun when one of those three factors is lacking, but the other two need to remain strong. DanMachi is therefore a decent RPG since the story isn’t as well rounded as it should be.
This entire series is a first season and like it has been for so many other first season anime, a continuation isn’t guaranteed. However this show acts as though a second season is coming. Thus major plot elements are vague and don’t do a whole lot in terms of narrative.
Hestia Needed to be a Main Character
Her physical appearance aside, Hestia is a great character and one I would have liked to have seen more of. I shouldn’t be saying this since she's the lead female character who's supposed to be parallel with Bell.
Hestia is great support and though she can be childish, you see the wisdom of a true goddess guiding her. The loyalty Bell has towards his deity is again one of his greatest strengths. Too bad we never see that loyalty get built.
Hestia and Bell’s relationship was forged in flashback. This would have been fine, but this series demonstrated what happens when time is put into showing the creation of trus. Just looking at how effective it was for Bell and Lilly, I would imagine the bond between Bell and Hestia would be even stronger.
A huge missed opportunity if you ask me.
Final Thoughts
This one could have been forgettable. Luckily it turned out to be fun and worth watching.
Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Daro ka has the look of a typical harem anime and it does take advantages of those highlights. However the focus remains on the characters and the relationships they have between each other. The series relies on personality instead of appearance. The story’s not always as relevant as it probably should be, but the action and animation is a good distraction.
I went into this show intrigued and I came out of it pleasantly surprised.
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